Healthy eating 'out of reach' for many in Windsor-Essex

It costs a family of four $203.03 per week to eat healthy, a dollar amount that is 'unattainable' for many families in Windsor-Essex, according to a new Windsor-Essex County Health Unit report.

The2016 Nutritious Food Basket Survey results found the cost of eating well increased 1.52 percent this year.

The health unit says this can lead to increased food insecurity, when a person is not able to access good, quality food.

"The first thing you do when you start worrying about money is you start compromising the quality of food you're eating,"said Mariel Munoz, a public health nutritionist with the health unit.

"Healthier foods cost just a little bit more, you start going for more of the pre-packaged, more of the processed foods."

The report said a family of four living off of the income of one minimum wage earner may have to spend close to half of their weekly earnings to buy healthy foods.

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It added the spike would create an additional strain on people receiving social assistance, "After paying for rent, a single adult male receiving Ontario Works assistance would not have the financial means necessary to purchase enough healthy food to properly nourish himself," the report said.

The number of people livingin low-income households in the region, the report added, is "considerably greater for all age groups compared to the provincial average."